Today’s post (my 100th post by the way…who woulda thunk it??) is a simple shout-out to Giant Food Stores.

The label above is now going on all of their gluten-free items in their stores.

Wegmans does this and it is such a huge help when we go food shopping. And when I say “we” I really mean Mrs. Dude.

Not only are they including the label, but the literature we received from them shows me that they “get it”.  I’ve scanned the pamphlet and I’ll show it below.

But I’ll point out one section titled “Who should follow a gluten-free diet?”

And within this section, they have this little nugget: Following a strict gluten-free diet when not medically prescribed poses a significant risk for intolerant intake of folic acid, B vitamins, iron, calcium, vitamin D and fiber.

YES!!

And on their website, they have a gluten-free shopping list, gluten foods to avoid and a resources page with recipes, etc.

So kudos to you Giant. We’re getting there.

Here’s the pamphlet.

And another one bites the dust.

I have now added PF Chang’s to the list of restaurants I can no longer eat at. And as you can tell by the picture above, I’m quite sad about it.

First…a little PF Chang’s history. After my celiac diagnosis in 2007, I did not go out to eat for a few months. It was simply too difficult. And then I heard that PF Chang’s, which has a location just a few miles from my house at the time, had a gluten-free menu. I love Asian food. I missed eating out. It seemed like a match made in heaven.

I still have vivid memories of that first evening out…

I remember waiting for a table, very anxious about the ordeal. And my little Dudette put her hand on my knee and said “It’s ok Daddy. At least you don’t have cancer.” Little did she know at the time. Mrs. Dude and I had to contain ourselves from breaking out in ironic laughter.

As I mentioned in my blog post on Tuesday, I get emails from fellow celiacs asking for help. Your response on Tuesday was nothing short of incredible and it helped Denise (aka Mary) so much. She was beyond appreciative.

For that, I thank you.

I also realized that for every celiac that reaches out for help, there must be 100 more who suffer in silence; who are afraid to ask for help. So your contributions are also helping them.

Again, kudos to you. Our community seriously rocks!

Which brings me to today’s call for help. I will call her Susan. Her email to me is below. Her family thinks celiac is good because now she’ll be skinnier. You just can’t make this stuff up.

If you can take a few minutes and respond to her letter, you’ll be helping her and countless others.

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Hey Gluten Dude.

What the heck is a Haiku you ask? In its simplest form, it’s a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

And what on earth does it have to do with celiac disease? Absolutely nothing at all.

So then why am I writing a celiac Haiku? Well, when you post 31 blogs in 31 days, you need to think outside the box a bit. And I’m pretty confident this has not been done before. So even if it’s lame, I can still say it’s original.

Oh…and by the way, I am so game for your Haiku as well. All I ask for is one verse if you’ve got it inside you. It’s asking a lot, but it would be so cool to see what you come up with.

So I present to you, the first ever Celiac Haiku.

I used to drink beer
Now Titos is my best friend
I love you Titos

Pasta oh pasta
You were so soft this morning
Now you are granite

Time for a sandwich
But when I take my first bite
The bread falls apart

Not since I was two
Have I needed so many
Naps during the day

There is a bread crumb
On my gluten free counter
Time to disinfect

You told me before??
You’ll have to say it again
Yes…I have brain fog

Coffee and sushi
You are two of my best friends
Thank god you’re g-free

Order food naked
I will leave it up to you
What that really means

Dominos pizza
That was a half assed attempt
Going gluten free

Miss Kardashian
How was the In-n-Out Bun?
Gluten free?? Oh…Hi!!

What’s Gluten Relief?
It’s a scam for the ages
Please don’t believe it

The NFCA
Your intentions were honest
Please drop the amber

Celiac disease
It’s an autoimmune thing
A pain in my ass

There’s much we can have
Focus on the positive
It could be much worse

The month is now May
It’s Celiac Awareness
Let’s make it all year

To all celiacs
Let us journey together
Power in numbers

Mrs. Dude thank you
It’s not easy living with
Somebody like me

And to my Dudettes
May you be spared the curse of
The celiac gene

I get a decent amount of emails from fellow celiacs asking for help/advice.

If it’s medical question, I usually try to persuade them to find a GI who understands celiac disease (good luck with that one) as I’m reticent to give out any medical advice since I am not really qualified (though I did stay at a Howard Johnson’s last night.)

But sometimes I get emails asking for emotional advice.

I received two emails this week that just tore me apart. Both dealt with a recently diagnosed celiac whose family does not take the disease seriously…at all.

I provided some advice, but I also told them I would post their stories on my blog as we have an awesome community who would love to offer support and guidance (that would be you folks).

The first letter is below. It is from Mary (not her real name.) I will post the second one another day this week.

There is a link at the end of this post to sign a petition to “Help Ditch NFCA’s Amber Designation!” Please consider signing it.

Question 1: When you see an amber traffic light, what’s your first reaction? CAUTION

Question 2: When you see that a restaurant is endorsed by the NFCA, what’s your first thought? MUST BE SAFE FOR A CELIAC

Question 3: Why would the NFCA have an Amber Designation as part of their GREAT Kitchens program when Amber means it’s not safe for celiacs??

I am not here to attack the NFCA. At all.

They do a lot of wonderful things to raise celiac awareness and are a great organization to have in our corner.

But I, and A LOT of others in the gluten-free community, feel that they have simply dropped the ball on this one in a major, major way, and we are asking for your help in having the NFCA drop their Amber Designation.

A special shout-out today to some of my favorite female gluten-free bloggers.

Whether you are a mom or not, today we celebrate you!

Thank you for sharing your stories.

Thank you for opening your hearts.

Thank you for sharing your recipes.

Thank you for spreading awareness.

Thank you for being such awesome voices in our community.

I KNOW I forgot some of you. It either means I couldn’t find a picture or I spaced out. My apologies in advance.

And of course, an extra special shout out to my mom, for whom if it wasn’t for her genes, I wouldn’t have celiac disease.

Totally kidding mom…thanks for EVERYTHING. I love you!

I was hoping to do a positive, life is good type of post today after a long week of media hell (because life IS good dammit). But alas i had to post this…

In response to my Today Show rant from Thursday, where the guest doctor on the show called celiac disease “trendy”, a reader shared her celiac story on my blog. She was beyond disgusted on what she saw on The Today Show, as we all were.

Her story is the result of what happens when celiac disease is not taken seriously and patients are not listened to.

I want to dedicate today’s blog post to her. Please read her story below and share it…it’s an important story to tell.

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Hi Gluten dude! I feel a bit of a rant coming on….

It’s misinformed, arrogant “doctors” like this who kept me from being properly diagnosed for many years. I suspect it keeps millions from being diagnosed properly.

From late 2007-late 2010, I tried to find out why I was in so much debilitating pain and dropping weight so quickly. I lost a drastic 90 lbs. because I could not eat or keep anything in me. My entire GI tract BURNED from mouth to rectum and even water burned doing down.

One doctor told me “congratulations on your weight loss”.

Another said I needed to “do volunteer work to get my mind off it all.” (I could not even dress myself or tie my shoes)

Another encouraged me to work out at a gym. I tried but kept feeling faint on the treadmill and then, my legs and back went numb.

I heard “it’s just menopause”, fibromyalgia, the catch-all “IBS and GERD””…and my favorite, “it’s just stress” because my father had just died.

I was offered more drugs than you can imagine: pain meds, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, sleep meds, antacids, thyroid meds I did not need —and even sent to a psychiatrist– to get me to shut up and leave the office. Drugs made my already ripped up gut worse and so I did not take them.

I have no psychiatric problems, but I sure as hell thought I would lose my mind.

We spent $30K out- of -pocket on tests, physical therapy, alternative doctors–anything to to help me get well. NOTHING worked.